The present invention relates to an enclosure (housing), in particular for accommodating electrical and electronic components, comprising an enclosure lower part (housing lower section) and a cover that can be fastened by means of screw connections. Mounting canals, located parallel to the screw locations in the housing lower section, allow the housing to be fastened to a support.
Commercially available housings, primarily made from aluminium but sometimes also from glass-fibre reinforced polyester or thermo-plastic materials are provided in the lower section of the housing in the regions of the corners with a tapped hole for affixing a cover which is provided, for this purpose, with through bores with a lowering for the screw head. For reasons of saving material and weight a canal is provided adjacent to the tapped holes axially aligned with said holes and extending through to the bottom side of the lower section, the clear widths of said canal being larger than the cross-section of the tapped hole. One fastening channel (mounting canal) each extends in parallel to the aforesaid canals and usually immediately adjacent to them. Said mounting canal commences at the top side of the lower section, i.e. on the closing level, terminating at its bottom end in a through bore of a lower cross-section which in turn extends through to the bottom side of the lower section. This step between the mounting canal and the through bore creates a circular bearing surface for a fastening by means of which the housing lower section can be affixed to the support.
Such a housing is known from DE 88 14 890 U1. It comprises a relatively high housing lower section compared to the height of the cover. As an option for the user of a housing it is provided that cover and housing lower section are interchangeable, i.e. that the cover can be used as housing lower section and the housing lower section as cover respectively. In order to allow this, it must be ascertained that the cover now serving as housing lower section can also be affixed to a support, e.g. a wall or a machine. To this end mounting canals are used as they are known from the housing lower section. In the embodiment of a housing shown in DE 88 14 890 U1 the mounting canals of cover and housing lower section are aligned with one another, i.e. they lead into each other at the closing level of the housing, although for functional reasons this is not required.
This and other housings of this type have a drawback in that, in order to fasten the enclosure to a support, the enclosure always has to be opened so that the mounting canals can be accessed. This is often not desired by users of housings mounting their electronic components in such housings as such electronic components or their wire connections may damaged upon mounting the housing on site. In order to avoid this, it is known with aluminium housings to use screwed or exterior fastening lashes. However, these mean additional expenditure and are not pleasant to look at.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a housing of the aforementioned type avoiding the above-cited disadvantages of the state of the art.
This task is solved by the invention by a housing comprising a housing lower section, a cover that can be fastened to the lower section by a screw connection, and mounting canals disposed in the housing lower section, through which the housing can be fastened to a support. A part of the mounting canals are disposed within the cover and open to the exterior, such that the housing can be fastened to the support when the cover is closed. The cross-sections of the mounting canals are of a size such that mounting screws, each comprising a screw head, can be top-to-bottom inserted through the canals, up to a narrowing of the canal, which generates a stop for the bead of the mounting screw.
Surprisingly, the present solution has never been realized despite the fact that the solution according to the invention appears surprisingly simple. Hereby, in developed embodiments of the invention it can be of advantage, at least optically, if a cover is provided for the mounting canals open at the top of the cover. This can be attained, in the most simple case, by means of caps such as used in the housing known from DE 88 14 890 U1 for covering the cover screw canals.
Advantageous further aspects of the invention are described elsewhere herein.
Hereafter, the invention shall be further illustrated by means of an embodiment example. In the accompanying drawing: